Moral and psychological violence
This form of violence may be manifested verbally by shouting and insults, but also lies, frequent absences from home, unexplained lateness. The injuries are serious and long lasting, they may take longer to heal than physical wounds. Marriage to minors may be included in this category.
Each religious community defines the age of marriageability of its faithful. For Muslims, it is 18 for boys and 14 to 17 for girls. For Christians, the age varies between 16 and 18 for boys and between 14 and 18 for girls. Forced marriage is forbidden for all Lebanese but, in accordance with Islamic law, the marriage of an adult man to a minor with the consent of her father is considered legal. In these circumstances, the girl has no say in the matter. This practice has tended to decline with better education for children. However, the war in Syria and the arrival of more than one and a half million refugees in Lebanon since 2011 has resulted in more marriages of minors.
An inquiry into the extent of early marriage amongst the Lebanese and Syrian refugees in Lebanon, carried out by the Institute of Political Sciences of the USJ (St Joseph University) in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy in Lebanon, revealed that more than 6% of women are married before they attain their majority . This level is higher in the regions close to the Syrian border.
Organisations have protested against these practices and put pressure on religious leaders and the judiciary to draft a law to officially raise the age of marriage. They won the support of CNFL[1] , Lebanon's official institution for female rights. In spring 2017, such a law was being debated in Parliament.
